She lifted one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “Okay, sure. Oh, and when you finally sit down, make sure you have something to drink. At the last party, some dumbass girl thought she could impress all these rich guys by looking as skinny as possible, like she might actually convince them she was a runway model or something. She didn’t have any water all night in case it bloated her, and she ended up passing out right in the middle of the ballroom from dehydration.”
“Yikes.” I grimaced and headed back out to the main party room. Back to invisibility.
Only I wasn’t so invisible now.
There was a guy at the edge of the room, standing with his head cocked to one side as he swept his eyes over the party. A storm brewed on his face as he watched the revelry, and his top lip was pulled back in a sneer. He appeared to be disliking tonight’s event about as much as I was… until he spotted me. A small smile curved his lips then, and he arched a thick brow.
I almost had a heart attack right then and there. Tall, dark and handsome was an old cliché, but holy shit, this guy epitomized it.
He was beyond gorgeous with tousled dark hair, piercing blue eyes, a square jaw shadowed with stubble, and full, expressive lips. Tall and broad-shouldered, he wore his shirt like he was a model, and he looked like he knew it too.
A droplet of sweat rolled down my back as I met his gaze for a split-second before dropping my head in embarrassment. I licked my lips and tasted salt and blood, and I realized I’d just bitten a tiny chunk out of my cheek from sheer nervousness.
Don’t trip, don’t trip, don’t trip,I begged myself as I kept heading toward the table. I finally reached it and stood stock-still as I caught my breath, pretending I didn’t notice the guy still staring at me from across the room. Pretending my heart wasn’t racing at the mere thought of his eyes on my face.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him push off the wall with leonine grace and head in my direction. The flare of amusement in his eyes promised trouble.
Suddenly I wished I was in quicksand, sinking out of view. He was so perfect, so handsome and put-together, and I was a sweaty, greasy-looking mess. Why the hell was he coming over to me? I didn’t have any food trays on me, and all the glasses nearby were empty. I had literally nothing to offer him.
“Hey,” he said when he reached me, one side of his mouth hooking upward. The faintest hint of a dimple marked his cheek. “Hate to sound like a giant walking cliché, but you’re not from here, are you?”
My pulse quickened, and I felt hot spots of color appearing in my cheeks. “No, I’m not,” I said, wishing it wasn’t so obvious that I was an outsider. But of course it was obvious. I wore a white blouse, black pants and flat black shoes, just like every other staff member here tonight.
“I meant it in a good way,” the guy said, lifting an eyebrow again. Now that he was closer, I could see that he was probably somewhere around my age.
I’d never been so close to a boy before… but he wasn’t exactly a boy. He was already all man.
I swallowed hard. “Oh?”
He raked his hands through his hair as he took me in, eyes sparkling wickedly. “I meant that you don’t look like you have a stick shoved up your ass like everyone else in this room.”
I cracked a smile at that, my edginess fading slightly. “Thanks.”
“Where are you from?”
“Silvercreek,” I said, feeling the spots in my cheeks grow even warmer.
I half-expected him to sneer at that, even though he’d been nice so far, but his face didn’t betray any snobbery whatsoever. He simply nodded and said, “I’ve been there before. There’s a good diner on the end of the main avenue. Kinda tacky-looking, but they have great burgers.”
“I work there!” I said, immediately wishing I didn’t sound so shrill and excited. “When I’m not filling in for my mom at stuff like this, I mean,” I added, schooling my voice into a more neutral tone.
“Maybe I should go there more often,” the guy said, lips curving into a full smile now.
My eyes widened. He was flirting with me, and he wasn’t even trying to be subtle about it.
Before I could muster up a response, he turned his head and cast his eyes around the room. “What do you think of the party, anyway?”
“It’s nice. Amazing decorations,” I said in a small voice.
“You can be honest with me,” he replied, eyes glimmering with mischief as he turned back to look at me. “No one really gives a fuck about party decorations.”
“Some people do.”
He cocked a brow. “Are you one of them?”
I let out a light laugh. “Okay, you’ve made your point.” I paused, bit my bottom lip and looked around. “To be honest, I was expecting something a little different.”
“How so?”